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Night Elf Strategies FAQ - Version 1.10
=======================================
Created: 8/19/03 By: Matt McCloskey
Last Update: 8/19/03 Aka: Distortion
=================
Table of Contents
=================
1. Version information
2. Introduction
3. Basics
4. Heroes
4A. Demon Hunter
4B. Keeper of the Grove
4C. Priestess of the Moon
4D. Warden
5. Units
5A. Wisp
5B. Archer
5C. Huntress
5D. Glaive Thrower
5E. Dryad
5F. Druid of the Claw
5G. Mountain Giant
5H. Hippogryph
5I. Druid of the Talon
5J. Faerie Dragon
5K. Hippogryph Rider
5L. Chimaera
6. Buildings
6A. Tree of Life
6B. Tree of Ages
6C. Tree of Eternity
6D. Ancient of War
6E. Ancient of Lore
6F. Ancient of Wind
6G. Ancient Protector
6H. Ancient of Wonders
6I. Moon Well
6J. Altar of Elders
6K. Hunter's Hall
6L. Chimaera Roost
7. Strategies
7A. Build Orders
7B. -VS- Human
7C. -VS- Orc
7D. -VS- Undead
7E. -VS- Night Elf
7F. Team Strategies
8. Harassing
8A. Harassing Heroes
8B. Harassing Units
8C. How to stop harassers
8D. Harassing Tactics
9. Closing
10. Contacting Me
11. Copyright
12. Special Thanks
======================
1. Version Information
======================
Version 1.0 - 8/19/03 - Introduction, Basics, Heroes, and Units sections
complete. Began Buildings section.
Version 1.1 - 8/20/03 - Buildings, Strategies, Harassing, and Closing sections
complete.
===============
2. Introduction
===============
This is the first FAQ I have ever written, I've played enough games with the
Night Elves to know what I'm talking about, so gather round children and learn
from the master. THIS FAQ DOES NOT COVER THE CAMPAIGN!
=========
3. Basics
=========
In this section, I will explain the basics of the Night Elves. This includes
tips to help out the less experienced Night Elf players. If you're already an
experience Night Elf player, you can skip this.
- Wisps do not need to return to a Tree of Life when gathering resources.
- Ancients can attack while rooted or uprooted, but they have heavy armor while
uprooted.
- Moon Well can restore any non-mechanical unit's health and mana.
- Night Elf units only regenerate during the night, this is also true for Moon
Well mana.
- Female Night Elf units can remain invisible at night while standing still and
not attacking. Use the Hide ability to prevent them from moving or attacking.
- With the Ultravision upgrade, Night Elves can see further at night time than
other races, always get this.
- Natures Blessing significantly increases Ancients and Treants armor, always
get this.
- Well Spring increases the Moon Well's maximum mana capacity and increases
it's rate of mana regeneration, always get this.
=========
4. Heroes
=========
--------------------------
4A. Demon Hunter
Primary Attribute: Agility
--------------------------
This is the #1 most used Night Elf hero, followed closely by the Warden. Most
people like the Demon Hunter because he is the strongest, being able to take a
lot of punishment, and also dish it out. If you get him to level 6, he is the
best physical attack tank in the game. His low HP makes him weak to magic, his
high armor and Evasion skill make him strong against physical attacks.
Skills
------
Mana Burn - Drains the targets mana, for each point of mana drained 1 damage is
dealt to the target. Drains 50/100/150 mana, desipite the nerf, this is still
an extremely useful skill, mainly because you can spam it now. The mana cost
is low (50) and it has a short cooldown (7/6/5 seconds), so you should be able
to drain a hero of it's mana completely in any battle. Use it on heroes with
a deadly direct damage spell (Mountain King, Death Knight, Lich). I recommend
getting this skill first.
------
Immolation - Engulfs the Demon Hunter in flames, any nearby enemy units take
light damage. Drains mana until deactivated, Deals 10/15/20 damage per second.
If I get this skill, it's usually only one level. This skill is excellent
against a Ghoul masser who surrounds your Demon Hunter, just make sure you use
Potions of Healing and Rejuvenation. I recommend getting this skill last, get
it third (after one level of Mana Burn and one level of Evasion) if your
opponent is using a lot of weak units (Footmen, Ghouls, Achers).
------
Evasion - Gives the Demon Hunter the ability to completely avoid attacks,
taking 0 damage. Enough said. Seriously, always get this skill, if you want
your Demon Hunter to fight you will need this to survive.
------
Metamorphosis - Transforms the Demon Hunter into a demon (how ironic), in this
form he has 500 bonus hit points, 3hp/sec bonus regeneration, 600 range, splash
damage, and chaos attack type. Strong enough to scare anyone from TillerMan to
Qazzi.
-------------------------------
4B. Keeper of the Grove
Primary Attribute: Intelligence
-------------------------------
The KotG is the least used of the Night Elf heroes, the reason being because he
is weak and his aura sucks. The Demon Hunter and Warden are used because they
are fierce fighters and have excellent combat skills. The Priestess of the
Moon out-performs the KotG because all you need is her aura. The KotG is
overlooked because he is weak and his skills lack power, however, like all over
looked heroes, he can definetly wreak some havok on the battlefield.
Skills
------
Entangling Roots - Traps the target enemy unit in roots, the unit is unable to
move or attack and takes 15 damage per second, the unit can still cast magic.
Lasts 12/24/36 seconds. This is perhaps the best skill the KotG has in his
spellbook. The duration has been nerfed since Reign of Chaos, but that can be
overlooked as it now prevents the unit from attacking and interrupts channeling
spells. This skill is excellent in the early stages of the game, as it can
instantly put a unit out of battle.
------
Force of Nature - Converts an area of trees into Treants. Summons 2/3/4
Treants. This skill is decent, the best use I have found of it was killing
workers and tanking. If you rush with Force of Nature, you may kill some Peons
if your opponent doesn't notice them or you could make him move his workers.
This skill is far better for tanking though, especially once you have Natures
Blessing. Summon up some Treants before creeping, then send them in first to
tank all the damage. Their attack is rather low so don't expect to kill much
with them, but with Natures Blessing they have the most armor of any summoned
unit (with the exceptions of ultimates), plus you can cast this 3 times if mana
allows. If you're attacking a base, cast this on the trees where your opponent
is harvesting, you destroy his trees and your Treants automatically attack the
Peons.
Treant Statistics
-----------------
HP: 300
Damage: 16 average
Armor: 0 (5*)
Speed: Slow (Average*)
* = Value with Natures Blessing researched
------
Thorns Aura - Gives nearby friendly units a damage shield, which reflects a %
of enemy melee damage. Reflects 10/20/30% of melee damage. This skill is
pretty bad, the only time it's really of any use is if your opponent masses
tier 3 melee, every other melee unit's damage is far too low to be harmed by
this skill. Only get this if you're worried about conserving mana for one of
the other two spells, or if your opponent is massing tier 3 melee.
------
Tranquility - Heals nearby friendly units at a rate of 20hp/sec, lasts 30
seconds. This skill has been buffed since RoC, it had it's cooldown shortened
and it's mana cost reduced. The cooldown is now 60 seconds, which means you
only have 30 seconds where you're not being healed if you leave the spell on
for the full duration and you have the mana. This skill is definetly a must,
unfortunately, Orcs get nearly the same effect from a Healing Ward. It is
easily interrupted, however. If you find a Potion of Invulnerability or even
better, a Potion of Divinity, use it before casting Tranquility. Other options
include casting Anti-Magic Shell, buying a Lesser Potion of Invulnerability, or
buying an Anti-Magic Potion.
--------------------------
4C. Priestess of the Moon
Primary Attribute: Agility
--------------------------
The PotM is my favorite second hero, as her aura is among the best in the game.
Unlike most other heroes, she can be of great use even at level 1 because of
her aura. I don't recommend her as a first hero in solo games, your army will
be much smaller and will benefit better from a hero who can do well on his own.
In team games, she is a good first hero if your allies are getting ranged units
if you are the only one who will benefit from her aura, then I recommend
getting her second. Only use her if you're going ranged units, if you're
getting melee, get the KotG.
Skills
------
Hide - Allows the PotM to remain invisible at night, she will not attack nearby
enemies when Hide is activated. Use this when the enemy focus fires on her.
------
Scout - Creates one Owl Scout that can be used to scout. The duration, speed,
and sight range of the Owl increase as you level this skill up, the mana cost
also decreases. I use this in solo games, Night Elves are weak on their own
so you must know what your opponent is making in order to win, and in team
games my ally can scout.
------
Searing Arrows - Increases the damage and range of the PotM, drains mana with
each shot fired. I use this skill in team games and focus on enemy heroes.
The PotM has the highest damage of any hero with this skill, and the added
range allows her to bomb enemy heroes easily. If you use this skill, give the
PotM combat items that will increase her damage, agility, or attack speed and
focus fire on heroes.
------
Trueshot Aura - Increases the PotM's and nearby friendly unit's damage by
10/20/30%. This is her best skill, even better than Starfall IMO and the main
reason I pick the PotM. You should get this skill level 3 as soon as possible,
that means picking it at level 1, 3 and 5. The damage boost is extremely
useful when you have several ranged units, and is broken when you have a 4vs4
when all your allies go ranged. If you're not using ranged units, why did you
pick the PotM?
------
Starfall - Causes stars to fall on enemy units nearby the PotM, each star deals
50 damage, lasts 45 seconds. This skill is the strongest area of effect spell
in the game, it can easily crush entire armies in a few seconds, assuming it is
not interrupted. The reason I rank this below Trueshot Aura is because it is
easily interrupted, not to mention that it costs mana and has a long cooldown
while Trueshot Aura is passive. If you find a Potion of Invulnerability or
even better, a Potion of Divinity, use it before casting Starfall. Other
options include casting Anti-Magic Shell, buying a Lesser Potion of
Invulnerability, or buying an Anti-Magic Potion.
--------------------------
4D. Warden
Primary Attribute: Agility
--------------------------
The Warden does best as a first hero and really lacks as a second hero. You
need her to be leveled up quickly to see her power, getting her second only
delays that and usually gets her killed often. The key to using her correctly
is knowing how to use Blink to quickly move in, kill something, and move out,
without taking much damage. The Warden requires heavy micro to keep alive, I
only recommend her as a first hero and only to players who can micro. The
Warden has two builds, Blink and Shadow Strike, or Blink and Fan of Knives,
each build has good results, which one you use depends on your opponent.
Leaving out Blink is just suicide. Also, it's wise to stock her up on Potions
of Mana whenever possible.
Skills
------
Hide - Allows the Warden to remain invisible at night, she will not attack
nearby enemies when Hide is activated. Use this when the enemy focus fires on
her.
------
Shadow Strike - Deals initial strike damage to the target as well as damage
every 3 seconds for 15 seconds, also slows the target's movement speed by 50%.
This is usually my skill of choice with Blink, it's the most deadly of all
direct damage spells and can easily kill an enemy hero with a few castings.
You should be using this on heroes 95% of the time, the only time you should
use this on anything else is when you are harassing (kill Peons) or when the
enemy hero is not around. Combine with Blink to chase down enemy heroes as
they run away.
------
Fan of Knives - Deals damage to the 5 closest targets around the Warden. This
skill is best used when your opponent is using many smaller units or when they
have a big tank hero (Mountain King, Tauren Chieftain, Crypt Lord). The damage
isn't really noticable against larger units like tier 3 melee, but it does well
against weaker units like Footmen, Ghouls, Archers, Head Hunters, and some air
units. If they have a tank hero, chances are you will have trouble Shadow
Striking it to death, so you're better off killing the army with Fan of Knives.
This skill is great for harassing workers also, at level 2 you can kill 5
workers with 2-3 casts, 1 cast for Wisps. Combine with Blink to chase down
enemy armies as they run away.
------
Blink - Teleports the Warden a short distance very quickly. As you can guess,
this skill is a definite must, the Warden is far too weak to leave in combat,
you must have this so you can maneuver around the battle field. If you don't
get this, GG Warden.
------
Vengeance - Summons one Avatar of Vengeance that lasts 180 seconds. This skill
is quite powerful, especially since the buff in the last patch. You will
definetly want to micro the Avatar of Vengeance so you can get the full 180
seconds. The reason this ability is so powerful is because of the Spirits of
Vengeance that the Avatar can summon. They are basically Archers with a
faster attack speed and invulnerability, and you can have 6 at once so the
damage quickly adds up.
Avatar of Vengeance Statistics Spirit of Vengeance Statistics
------------------------------ ------------------------------
HP: 1200 HP: 500
Mana: 400 Damage: 16 average
Damage: 30.5 average Armor: Invulnerable
Armor: 2 Speed: Fast
Speed: Fast
----------
My Opinion
----------
In solo games, I always get a Demon Hunter or Warden first, they are the two
strongest Night Elf heroes and having a weak hero early on isn't wise. As a
second hero, I usually pick a PotM, but sometimes I pick a KotG. The Demon
Hunter and Warden should be picked first to get their full potential. In team
games, the PotM and KotG make better first choices, but still, I usually pick
the Demon Hunter or Warden first.
You can make your own decision on what heroes to pick, but those are my
favorite choices.
========
5. Units
========
This section is just a basic overview of all the units, it's not quite as
detailed as the hero section, but it does give you the unit statistics and
abilities.
* = value with full upgrades
Speed: = attack speed/movement speed, if there is only one, it pertains to both
Cost: = gold cost/lumber cost
--------
5A. Wisp
--------
Wisps are used to harvest gold and lumber, create Night Elf structures, and
repair friendly structures. They can also Detonate to dispel magic, drain mana
and damage summoned units in an area. Detonating is quite useful against
rushes as a hero without mana isn't going to function well.
Wisp Statistics
---------------
HP: 120
Produced at: Tree of Life
Speed: Slow
Cost: 60/0
Skills
------
Renew - Repairs friendly structures or mechanical units, uses gold and lumber.
------
Detonate - Dispels magic, drains 100 mana, and deals 225 damage to summoned
units in the target area of effect. Destroys the Wisp.
----------
5B. Archer
----------
Archers are the tier 1 ranged unit for the Night Elves. They are good mainly
because they are cheap and fast to build, you can easily create an army of
Archers in two minutes. They are excellent anti air and are fairly decent
against ground units also, just make sure you keep them behind something,
their low HP won't last long. Weak against area of effect spells.
Archer Statistics
-----------------
HP: 260
Damage: 17 (26*) average
Armor: 0 (6*)
Food: 2
Speed: Average
Produced at: Ancient of War
Cost: 130/10
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Hide - Allows the Archer to remain invisible at night, she will not attack
nearby enemies when Hide is activated.
------
Mount Hippogryph - Mounts the target Hippogryph, allowing the Archer to attack
from the air.
------
Elunes Grace - Reduces the damage taken from Piercing damage to 65%, and spells
and Magic damage to 80%.
------
Improved Bows - Increases the range of the Archer and Hippogryph Rider by 200.
------
Marksmanship - Increases the damage of Archers and Hippogryph Riders by 3.
------------
5C. Huntress
------------
Huntress are the tier 1 melee unit for the Night Elves, although they aren't
really melee. Huntress are good against tier 1 melee, however, against tier 1
melee/ranged mix, Huntress will usually fall. Use their speed to your
advantage, do hit and run attacks on your opponent's base or sneak up on him
while creeping. Huntress are unarmored, so if your opponent is making a lot
of piercing or siege, switch to something else. If he is massing tier 1 melee,
Huntress should handle him if you can micro. Avoid fighting when you can with
these, use them for tactical strikes.
Huntress Statistics
-------------------
HP: 600
Damage: 17 (23*) average
Armor: 2 (8*)
Food: 3
Speed: Fast
Produced at: Ancient of War
Cost: 195/20
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Hide - Allows the Huntress to remain invisible at night, she will not attack
nearby enemies when Hide is activated.
------
Sentinel - Places an owl in the target tree, the owl can see in an area around
it. Always get this.
------
Moon Glaive - Gives the Huntress' attack an additional bounce, for a total of
2 bounces.
------------------
5D. Glaive Thrower
------------------
The Glaive Thrower is the long range siege weaponry of the Night Elves, it is
weaker than the others, however, it can be built at tier 1, providing a great
advantage over other races. Mix in some of these with your Huntress and
Archers early to end the game quickly.
Glaive Thrower Statistics
-------------------------
HP: 300
Damage: 44.5 (64*) average
Armor: 2
Food: 3
Speed: Very Slow/Slow
Produced at: Ancient of War
Cost: 210/65
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Vorpal Blades - Allows the glaive launched by the Glaive Thrower to pass
through the initial ground target and damage those behind. Also allows them
to attack trees.
---------
5E. Dryad
---------
Dryads are unique to the Night Elves, as no other race has a unit that is
similar. Dryads are magic immune, which means they can counter casters and
heavy magical air (Chimaera, Frost Wyrm, Gryphon) easily. They are easily
countered by tier 1 ranged however, so don't use them if that's what your
opponent is getting. They counter tier 1 melee pretty well, when combined with
Huntress. Use them when you're getting annoyed with spells like Sleep or
Healing Wards.
Dryad Statistics
----------------
HP: 435
Mana: 200
Damage: 17 (23*) average
Armor: 0 (6*)
Food: 3
Speed: Slow/Fast
Produced at: Ancient of Lore
Cost: 145/60
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Slow Poison - The Dryad's regular attack deals 8 damage per second, and slows
the target enemy's movement speed by 50% and attack by 25% for 5 seconds
(1 second for Heroes).
------
Spell Immunity - The Dryad is immune to spells.
------
Abolish Magic - Removes positive buffs from enemy units and negative buffs
from friendly units. Deals 300 damage to summoned units.
---------------------
5F. Druid of the Claw
---------------------
This is my favorite Night Elf unit, not only is he a caster, but he's also tier
3 melee! Whether or not I'm going Huntress/Archer all game, I like to use some
DotC to boost my damage even further and to heal my heroes. Roar + Trueshot
Aura is quite a deadly combination. Use these guys whenever possible.
Druid of the Claw Statistics Bear Form Statistics
---------------------------- --------------------
HP: 430 (580*) HP: 960
Mana: 200 (400*) Mana: 400
Damage: 20.5 (25.5*) average Damage: 36.5 (47*) average
Armor: 1 Armor: 3 (9*)
Food: 4 Food: 4
Speed: Average Speed: Average
Produced at: Ancient of Lore
Cost: 255/80
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Druid Form - Transforms the DotC back into a Night Elf, allowing him to cast
spells and regenerate mana faster.
------
Roar - Gives nearby friendly units a 25% damage boost for 45 seconds.
------
Rejuvenation - Heals the target friendly unit for 400 HP over 12 seconds.
------
Bear Form - Transforms the DotC into a bear, the Night Elf tier 3 melee. While
in Bear Form he can cast Roar if you upgraded Enchanted Bears, and he becomes
an excellent fighter, his mana regeneration is also slowed.
------
Druid of the Claw Adept Training - Increases the DotC's mana capacity, mana
regeneration rate, HP, damage, and gives them the ability to cast Rejuvenation.
------
Druid of the Claw Master Training - Further increases the DotC's mana capacity,
mana regeneration rate, HP, damage, and allows him to transform into Bear Form.
------
Enchanted Bears - Allows the DotC to cast Roar while in Bear Form.
------------------
5G. Mountain Giant
------------------
This unit was much needed by the Night Elves, as they lacked a good tank.
Mountain Giants are the most durable units in the game, being able to take a
lot of damage before falling. What makes things even better is that you can
force enemy units to attack it! 3 Mountain Giants can be a pain for even the
best microers. I don't use these too often, as they cost a LOT of resources, I
use DotC over these any day.
Mountain Giant Statistics
-------------------------
HP: 1600
Damage: 34 (46*), w/War Club: 41 (54.5*) average
Armor: 4 (10*)
Food: 7
Speed: Slow
Produced at: Ancient of Lore
Cost: 425/100
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Taunt - Forces all nearby enemy units to attack the Mountain Giant.
------
War Club - Picks up the target tree, gives the Mountain Giant siege damage and
increased attack range.
------
Hardened Skin - Reduces all attack damage on the Mountain Giant by 12. Attacks
cannot be reduced below 3 damage.
------
Resistant Skin - Gives Mountain Giants resistance to certain spells and
abilities such as Polymorph and Devour. Also, other negative spells have
shorter durations such as Entangle and Sleep.
--------------
5H. Hippogryph
--------------
Hippogryph's are very strong anti air units, although I don't recommend them
over Archers, having a few aroud is still a good idea, as you can mount them
after the aerial assault is over. Their fast movement speed makes them
excellent scouts.
Hippogryph Statistics
-------------------------
HP: 525
Damage: 54.5 (67*) average
Armor: 0 (6*)
Food: 2
Speed: Fast/Very Fast
Produced at: Ancient of Wind
Cost: 160/20
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Pick up Archer - Picks up the target Archer so the Archer may attack from the
air.
----------------------
5I. Druid of the Talon
----------------------
The DotT is the other spell caster for the Night Elf race. His abilities are
more than useful, however, he is rarely seen on the battle field. In Storm
Crow form, he gains a powerful anti air attack which is useful against large
slow units like Frost Wyrms and Chimaeras. His magic is good all around and
can easily turn the battle in your favor, you just have to find the time to
tech to them.
Druid of the Talon Statistics Storm Crow Form Statistics
----------------------------- --------------------------
HP: 340 (380*) HP: 340 (380*)
Mana: 200 (400*) Mana: 300 (400*)
Damage: 12 average Damage: 38 (50*) average
Armor: 0 Armor: 0 (6*)
Food: 2 Food: 2
Speed: Average Speed: Fast
Produced at: Ancient of Wind
Cost: 135/20
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Druid Form - Transforms the DotT into a druid, a powerful anti air unit. While
in Storm Crow Form he can cast Faerie Fire if you upgraded Enchanted Crows, his
mana regeneration is also slowed.
------
Faerie Fire - Reduces the target enemy unit's armor by 5 and also gives vision
of that unit.
------
Crow Form - Transforms the druid into a Storm Crow, giving him the ability to
fly and attack aerial units with greater strength. While in Storm Crow Form
he can cast Faerie Fire only after you have researched Enchanted Crows.
------
Cyclone - Throws the target enemy unit into the air, rendering it unable to
move, attack, or cast spells, the unit is also invulnerable.
------
Druid of the Talon Adept Training - Increases the DotT's mana capacity, mana
regeneration rate, hit points, and allows them to assume Storm Crow Form.
------
Druid of the Talon Master Training - Further increases the DotT' mana capacity,
mana regeneration rate, hit points, and gives them the ability to cast Cyclone.
------
Enchanted Crows - Allows the DotT to cast Faerie Fire while in Storm Crow form.
-----------------
5J. Faerie Dragon
-----------------
The Faerie Dragon's are IMO the best anti-caster unit in the game. Most of the
time, you can destroy enemy casters with this unit, if not, you can prevent
them from casting spells or cause them to retreat. Either way, you gain the
advantage, so as a rule, if you see casters, make Faerie Dragons. Turn Phase
Shift off so you always have mana for Mana Flare.
Faerie Dragon Statistics
------------------------
HP: 450
Mana: 200
Damage: 13.5 (18*) average
Armor: 0 (6*), +12 while casting Mana Flare
Food: 2
Speed: Fast
Produced at: Ancient of Wind
Cost: 155/25
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Phase Shift - Shifts the Faerie Dragon out of existence whenever it takes
damage. While out of existence, this unit cannot attack, move, cast spells, be
attacked, or have spells cast upon it. Any shots en route to the Faerie Dragon
will miss, remains out of existence for 1 second.
------
Mana Flare - The Faerie Dragon turns into a small glowing orb and will shock
any nearby enemy units that cast spells. Also increases the Faerie Dragon's
armor by 12. Deals [3 x mana cost] damage, cannot exceed 90 damage. The
damage is also splash. Can only shock one unit per .75 seconds.
------
Spell Immunity - Faerie Dragons are immune to spells.
--------------------
5K. Hippogryph Rider
--------------------
Hippogryph Riders are the lesser Night Elf aerial unit, although they are still
rather annoying. Created by mounting an Archer on a Hippogryph, these flying
Archers have great speed and mobility. What most people don't know is that
Hippogryph Riders attack faster than Archers, making them stronger not only
in HP and armor, but in damage as well. Use these whenever your enemy has no
anti-air and for harassing.
Hippogryph Rider Statistics
---------------------------
HP: 765
Damage: 17 (26*) average
Armor: 1 (7*)
Food: 4
Speed: Fast
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Decouple Archer and Hippogryph - Dismounts the Archer from the Hippogryph.
------
Improved Bows - Increases the range of the Archer and Hippogryph Rider by 200.
------
Marksmanship - Increases the damage of Archers and Hippogryph Riders by 3.
------------
5L. Chimaera
------------
This is the greater Night Elf air unit, it has a powerful magic attack as well
as a powerful siege attack. The only disadvantage this unit has is it's lack
of an aerial attack. Unless you catch your opponent completely off guard, this
unit is easily countered. Mix in 2-3 of these with your army for amazing
results.
Chimaera Statistics
------------------------
HP: 1000
Damage: 75 (102*), w/Corossive Breath 50 (68*) average
Armor: 2 (8*)
Food: 5
Speed: Slow/Average
Produced at: Chimaera Roost
Cost: 330/70
Skills/Upgrades
---------------
Corrosive Breath - Gives Chimaeras a siege attack vs buildings.
============
6. Buildings
============
In this section I will give all the building statistics, as well as what they
produce and their cost. If the upgrade a building provides has already been
described in the unit section, it will not be described again in this section.
All Ancients move very slow, even with Natures Blessing.
* = value with full upgrades
Cost: = gold cost/lumber cost
----------------
6A. Tree of Life
----------------
This is the Night Elf town hall, it's cheaper than the Orc's and the Human's,
so expanding with Night Elf is a bit cheaper. Upgrades into Tree of Ages.
Tree of Life Statistics
-----------------------
HP: 1300
Damage: 45.5 average
Armor: 2 (7*)
Cost: 340/185
Produces: Wisp
Upgrades
--------
Backpack - Gives specific Night Elf units the ability to carry items.
----------------
6B. Tree of Ages
----------------
This is the second level town hall for the Night Elves, it allows further
upgrading, unit producing, and building construction, and allows new items to
be purchased from the Ancient of Wonders.
Tree of Ages Statistics
-----------------------
HP: 1700
Damage: 54.5 average
Armor: 2 (7*)
Cost: 320/180
Produces: Wisp
Upgrades
--------
Backpack - Gives specific Night Elf units the ability to carry items.
------
Natures Blessing - Increases all Ancient's armor and movement speed.
--------------------
6C. Tree of Eternity
--------------------
This is the third level town hall for the Night Elves. It allows further
upgrading, unit production, and building construction, all items can now be
purchased at the Ancient of Wonders.
Tree of Eternity Statistics
---------------------------
HP: 2000
Damage: 67 average
Armor: 2 (7*)
Cost: 330/200
Produces: Wisp
Upgrades
--------
Backpack - Gives specific Night Elf units the ability to carry items.
------
Natures Blessing - Increases all Ancient's armor and movement speed.
------------------
6D. Ancient of War
------------------
This is the Night Elf barracks, producing the core units of the army. It also
provides upgrades for the Archer, Huntress, and Glaive Thrower.
Ancient of War Statistics
-------------------------
HP: 1000
Damage: 50 average
Armor: 2 (7*)
Cost: 150/60
Produces: Archer, Huntress, and Glaive Thrower
Upgrades: Improved Bows, Marksmanship, Sentinel, Moon Glaive, Vorpal Blades
-------------------
6E. Ancient of Lore
-------------------
Ancient's of Lore produce one of the Night Elf casters and also their melee.
Also provides upgrades for the units it produces.
Ancient of Lore Statistics
--------------------------
HP: 900
Damage: 45.5 average
Armor: 2 (7*)
Cost: 155/145
Produces: Dryad, Druid of the Claw, and Mountain Giant
Upgrades: Abolish Magic, DotC Adept/Master Training, Resistant/Hardened Skin
-------------------
6F. Ancient of Wind
-------------------
Provides the other Night Elf caster, as well as their air units. Provides
upgrades for Hippogryph Rider and Druid of the Talon.
Ancient of Wind Statistics
--------------------------
HP: 900
Damage: 42 average
Armor: 2 (7*)
Cost: 150/140
Produces: Hippogryph, Druid of the Talon, and Faerie Dragon
Upgrades: Hippogryph Taming and DotT Adept/Master training.
---------------------
6G. Ancient Protector
---------------------
This is the Night Elf tower, it's got the lowest damage per second of any tower
I don't recommend wasting your money on them unless it's one or two for an
expansion. Sometimes if you're losing a Night Elf -vs- Night Elf game you can
make an Ancient Protector to counter his Huntress.
Ancient Protector Statistics
----------------------------
HP: 600
Damage: 49.5 average
Armor: 1 (3*)
Cost: 135/80
----------------------
6H. Ancient of Wonders
----------------------
My favorite building, the Ancient of Wonders is a must have. It sells various
items as well as potions to restore mana and health and Scrolls of Town Portal.
Always make one of these, get it as early as possible to take advantage of Moon
Stones and Clarity Potions.
Ancient of Wonders Statistics
-------------------------
HP: 450
Damage: 23 average
Armor: 2 (7*)
Cost: 150/60
Produces: Archer, Huntress, and Glaive Thrower
Items Sold
----------
Moon Stone (50 gold) - Changes it to night time for 30 seconds. Time is
stopped when using a Moon Stone, so it's impossible to waste one even when used
at night.
------
Lesser Clarity Potion (70 gold) - Regenerates the hero's mana by 100 over 30
seconds. These are excellent, don't let your hero get attacked or he stops
regerating, use these to restore mana rather than wasting your Moon Wells.
------
Dust of Appearance (75 gold) - Reveals invisible units in an area around the
hero for 20 seconds, contains 2 charges. Use these when you're being harassed
by a Blademaster.
------
Potion of Healing (150 gold) - Restores 250 HP to the hero when used. Always
have one or two of these with your hero.
------
Potion of Mana (200 gold) - Restores 150 mana to the hero when used. Same as
Potion of Healing, always have one.
------
Scroll of Town Portal (350 gold) - Teleports the hero and all nearby friendly
units to the target town hall. It's rather expensive, I don't recommend buying
another one unless you have an expansion. You can usually skip these and put
Sentinels everywhere and run back to your base and save it when you see your
opponent coming.
------
Staff of Preservation (200 gold) - Teleports the target friendly unit to it's
highest level town hall. If you give each of your heroes one you can send them
home quickly, cannot be used on self.
------
Orb of Venom (375 gold) - Gives the hero +5 bonus damage, a poison attack, and
an aerial attack. Not a bad orb, I recommend it for the PotM if you didn't get
Searing Arrows. It doesn't stack with Searing Arrows, so don't use both.
------
Anti-Magic Potion (100 gold) - Gives the hero Anti-Magic Shell for 10 seconds.
Use these before casting Tranquility or Starfall, that's the only use I found
out of them.
-------------
6I. Moon Well
-------------
This is the Night Elf farm, it's perhaps the best farm in the game, because it
can heal HP and mana. It's the most expensive though.
Moon Well Statistics
--------------------
HP: 600
Mana: 300 (500*)
Armor: 2
Cost: 180/40
-------------------
6J. Altar of Elders
-------------------
This summons and revives Night Elf heroes, no different from the other races
Altars.
Altar of Elders Statistics
--------------------------
HP: 900
Armor: 5
Cost: 180/50
Produces: Demon Hunter, Keeper of the Grove, Priestess of the Moon, and Warden
-----------------
6K. Hunter's Hall
-----------------
Provides the upgrades for all Night Elf units and allows training of Huntress.
Very important building.
Hunter's Hall Statistics
------------------------
HP: 1100
Armor: 5
Cost: 210/100
------------------
6L. Chimaera Roost
------------------
Trains the most powerful Night Elf unit, the Chimaera. Also provides it's
siege damage upgrade.
Chimaera Roost Statistics
-------------------------
HP: 1200
Armor: 5
Cost: 140/190
Produces: Chimaera
Upgrades: Corrosive Breath
=============
7. Strategies
=============
I'm sure this will be the most read section of my FAQ, since so many people ask
for strategies and build orders on GameFAQs. I may update this in the future.
As for the race strategies, that pertains to solo play. The strategy I list is
the one I use against that particular race, it's not necessarily the best one.
----------------
7A. Build Orders
----------------
In this section, I will give build orders for various types of strategies,
whether it be tier 1 rushing, teching, or creeping, I have a build order for
you. Most of my strategies are just for the start of the game, you will have
to expand on them yourself as the game progresses.
The Beginning
-------------
- Put 4 Wisps into gold mine, build 3 Wisps and build an Altar
- First Wisp out create a Moon Well
- Second Wisp out to gold, all further Wisps to lumber
This will be the first step in most of my build orders.
Dual AoW Huntress
-----------------
- Begin with "The Beginning"
- After you have 5 Wisps in your gold mine and an Altar and a Moon Well, create
Wisps until you will have a total of 13.
- When Altar and Moon Well finish, create a hero and send a Wisp to scout.
- Use your hero to harass your opponent while you harvest lumber.
- When you have 200 lumber, begin your Hunters hall and two Ancients of War.
- When you have 40 lumber, make a Moon Well, when you have another 40 lumber,
make another Moon Well.
- At this point you should have a hero, 11 Wisps (16 food), 3 Moon Wells, a
Hunter's Hall, 2 Ancients of War, and an Altar.
- Pump Huntress
Quick Archers
-------------
- Put 4 Wisps into mine, build 3 Wisps and an Altar
- First Wisp out create a Moon Well
- Second Wisp out to Ancient of War
- Third Wisp out to gold mine, all further Wisps to lumber
- Make Wisps until you have 11, make a hero and two Archers
- Make another Moon Well and Ancient of War when resources allow.
- Replace the Wisp that was used to create the Ancient of War.
- Pump Archers
Huntress/Archer Mix
-------------------
- Begin with "Quick Archers"
- Before the last step, create a Hunter's Hall
- Make Archers until your Hunter's Hall is complete
- A good ratio of Huntress to Archers is 2:3
Quick Tech
----------
- Begin with "Dual AoW Huntress"
- Make 4 Huntress and save resources for a Tree of Ages
- Continue to make Huntress and mix with tier 2 unit of your choice
Quicker Tech
------------
- Begin with "Quick Archers"
- Skip a second Ancient of War and save resources for Tree of Ages
- Make 4 total Archers for creeping and defending, make a Hunter's Hall
- Mix or mass tier 2 units of your choice
--------------
7B. -VS- Human
--------------
The Human game is all about fast expanding, luckily, the Night Elves excel in
speed better than any other race.
Use Dual AoW Huntress and mix in 2 Glaive Throwers once you have 6 Huntress.
The Keeper of the Grove is a good hero to rush the Humans with, Entangle is
the best way to stop those Peasants from finishing the town hall. Continually
harass him until you can get Glaive Throwers, once you have some head towards
his base. Try to distract his army (most likely Footmen and Water Elementals)
while your Glaive Throwers destroy key buildings like Farms and Barracks. Use
Entangle on the Water Elementals, their piercing damage hurts your Huntress a
lot. Footmen can nullify Archers attacks nearly completly. Use harassing
tactics.
------------
7C. -VS- Orc
------------
A common strategy that Orcs do against Night Elf is "Gruntapults". Gruntapults
is the term used for the Orc strategy that consists mostly of Grunts and
Demonishlers. It's rather deadly to Night Elves since Demolishers absolutely
crush Huntress. So how to counter this? I'll tell you how.
Use the Quick Tech build order and get Glaive Throwers along with your 4
Huntress. Watch him carefully and use hit and run attacks on his base to slow
down his tech while avoiding all confrontation. If you're lucky, you can kill
a few units or buildings or force him to stay in his base. When your Tree of
Ages finishes, get two Ancients of Wind and start making Archers. If you can
prevent him from seeing your Ancients of Wind, you should be able to catch him
by surprise with Hippogryph Riders. Continue making Glaive Throwers and just
use the Hippogryph Riders to protect them while they destroy his base. Make
sure you kill any Beastiarys! Don't want Bat Riders swarming in and killing
your Hippogryph Riders. If you see Bat Riders, quickly dismount your Archer
from the Hippogryh. Throw in some ground Archers if you have extra food and
gold.
---------------
7D. -VS- Undead
---------------
Most Undead players go Crypt Fiends, so that's really what my strategies are
good at countering.
You can attempt Dual AoW Huntress or Huntress/Archer Mix, but those require
that you play perfectly and have some luck. I recommend starting with Quick
Tech or Quicker Tech, leading up to DotC and Mountain Giants. These are the
best units for countering mass Crypt Fiends, and if you spot Destroyers or
Frost Wyrms, you can quickly switch to Dryads. The biggest threat to this
strategy is Gargoyles, DotC and Mountain Giants can't attack them, and Dryads
take extra damage from their piercing attack. If you do Quick Tech, you can
most likely defend a rush, if you do Quicker Tech, rushing becomes a bit of
a problem. If you can micro well, you can probably stop a Ghoul rush while
using Quicker Tech, as long as you didn't pick the PotM. If you have 3 or more
Mountain Giants, you can probably keep all his attacks on them by Taunting.
Use harassing tactics.
If he is massing Ghouls, try Huntress/Archer mix with Demon Hunter's Immolation
or Warden's Fan of Knives.
------------------
7E. -VS- Night Elf
------------------
Despite what some people think, Night Elf vs Night Elf can be more than just a
Huntress massing fest. While these strategies involve Huntress heavily, it's
not massing. I use these two strategies against Night Elf players, both
involve harassing.
Begin with Dual AoW Huntress and harass your opponent. Once you have 6
Huntress you should have 34/40+ food if you followed my build order, now make
two Glaive Throwers. Keep your Glaive Throwers protected at all costs, if he
runs past your Huntress, make your Glaive Throwers retreat. As you get more
Moon Wells, throw in some Archers. I use this strategy more than the next one.
Here is the other strategy I use:
Begin with Quick Tech and harass your opponent. When you reach tier 2, you're
left with several options. You should still make Huntress, but mix in a tier 2
unit with them. The best tier 2 units to mix with Huntress are Dryads, DotT,
and Hippogryph Riders. You can mix them with DotC if you want, but they're
rather expensive to be mixing with Huntress. Be flexible with this build and
you can usually win because your opponent is still massing Huntress.
If you get into trouble from lots of enemy Huntress, make an Ancient Protector
or two.
-------------------
7F. Team Strategies
-------------------
Night Elves excel in team games, they are far better with an ally aiding them
than on their own. Quick Archers is perhaps the best strategy to use when
rushing, Dual AoW Huntress is good if your ally is going to make ranged. Most
of the time your ally should be getting melee so you can back him up with loads
of Archers. If your partner is Undead, try Huntress/Archer mix since Ghouls
aren't great tanks. If you have a Night Elf partner, you can both Dual AoW
Huntress or one can Quick Archers and the other can Dual Aow Huntress. Either
strategy is a good one.
Consider picking the PotM as a first hero, her abilities really shine in team
games.
====================
8. Harassing Tactics
====================
Most of my game revolves around harassing, which is constant attacks on your
opponent to cause him to lose resources while you little to nothing. Since
some of my strategies mention harassing, I figured I'd better add a section
explaining how to go about it. Well... here it is.
--------------------
8A. Harassing Heroes
--------------------
In this section I will give information each heroes harassing ability and
how to harass effectively with them.
Demon Hunter
------------
The most popular Night Elf hero is indeed, a great harasser. Even with no
abilities, he can kill a few workers and escape alive. When you harass with
the Demon Hunter, your main weapon will be your physical attack. Just hack
away at a worker until it's dead, which won't take too long since the Demon
Hunter is fast and strong. If you want to speed up the process, use
Immolation. If you want to survive longer, use Evasion. If you want to stop
annoying spells (Sleep, Storm Bolt), use Mana Burn. If they make their workers
run, then you're slowing down their resource gathering, so just keep chasing.
Keeper of the Grove
-------------------
Though very frail and easily killed, the KotG is the second best Night Elf
harasser, next to the Warden. His main method of harassing involves the skill
Entangling Roots, which will deal 180 damage to a unit at level 1. This is
enough to kill a Wisp and almost kill the other 3 workers, so once you Entangle
a worker, attack it a few times to ensure it's death. You can use Force of
Nature early on to try to do some damage, but Entangle is much better. Later
in the game one Entangle can kill a worker and Force of Nature clears out quite
a few trees.
Priestess of the Moon
---------------------
I really don't recommend using the PotM for harassing, I'm sure everyone knows
she sucks at it. If you MUST use her to harass, get Searing Arrows and try to
kill some workers. The only advantage she has over the Demon Hunter and the
KotG is Shadowmeld.
Warden
------
The Warden is by far the best harasser in the whole game. Her ability to
harass comes from her skills Blink and Shadowmeld. Both of these remove her
from combat, making her very difficult to kill. If you can get level 3 Blink,
GG workers.
Shadow Strike is good for killing heroes, it's also good at killing workers but
Fan of Knives is better for that. If your opponent has picked a weak hero such
as the Lich or Bloodmage, you can often kill it in your initial rush by using
Shadow Strike and physical attacks. If they don't have a weak hero, kill
workers one by one with Shadow Strike and physical attacks. Shadow Strike does
150 damage at levle 1, so it will kill a Wisp with one cast.
If you want to focus more on worker/unit killing, Fan of Knives is the skill
for you. At level 3, it can kill any worker and small unit with a few casts.
Fan of Knives hits up to 5 targets, so be careful where you stand when using
this, you don't want to end up hitting the wrong target. Use Blink to move
behind the enemy's front line and use Fan of Knives on ranged units or casters.
-------------------
8B. Harassing Units
-------------------
In this section, I will list the Night Elf units that are good at harassing. I
will not list all the units, only the ones that are good at harassing.
Huntress
--------
This unit is perhaps the best harassing unit the Night Elves have. It is much
faster than any other tier 1 unit so it can easily outrun them, making survival
quite easy. You want to catch your opponent my surprise when using these,
attack his base when he least expects it and run when he returns.
Glaive Thrower
--------------
Glaive Throwers are not the best harassers, but they do a lot more damage than
Huntress do. The key to harassing with these is to distract his army with your
army while your Glaive Throwers attack his base. As you keep his army busy,
your Glaive Throwers should be destroying key buildings such as farms or
barracks. As your army weakens, retreat to your base and take your Glaive
Throwers with you. If executed well, you could damage his army, and he would
be unable to rebuild it because you destroyed his farms with your Glaive
Throwers.
Druid of the Talon
------------------
Harassing with this unit is more fun than it is effective, but it can still
cripple an opponent or give you an edge. You can use this unit it two ways:
Both ways require that you have Druid of the Talon Adept Training, for the
Storm Crow Form ability. This allows you to enter your opponent's base easily.
Assume Storm Crow Form and fly to his base, Faerie Fire should auto cast on
several nearby workers, allowing you not only to see his base, but to kill them
with ease. If you want to do some damage and get out, Faerie Fire a few so you
can see what he's doing, and Cyclone the rest. 20 seconds of no resources can
be annoying, plus it's funny Cycloning a Peon.
Hippogryph Rider
----------------
A good harasser for two reasons, aerial and long range. Flying allows this
unit to quickly enter a base, kill something, and run, and it's long range
allows it to stay out of harm while it assault workers. Don't make these
strictly for harassing, but if you have them, you might as well harass with
them.
That just about covers all the good harassing units, others can do it, but I
don't recommend using anything else. Chimaeras could do well, but at tier 3
your opponent probably has anti-air.
-------------------------
8C. How to Stop Harassers
-------------------------
Humans
------
Humans don't usually harass, but if they do most likely they're using an
Archmage and Water Elementals. Detonate Wisps for some free experience.
Orcs
----
Far Seer harassing is common, one Wisp can kill a Spirit Wolf with Detonate so
take advantage of that. Use a Demon Hunter to Mana Burn or a Warden to Shadow
Strike his Far Seer. If you're being harassed by a Blademaster with Windwalk,
buy Dust of Appearance.
Undead
------
You don't see too many Undead harassers, except for the rare Gargoyle masser.
Ancient Protectors and Archers can stop Gargoyle harassing, hiding your Wisps
around your base helps too. Sometimes they rush with their starting Ghoul, if
they do, remove a Wisp from your gold mine and put the one the Ghoul is
attacking into the gold mine. You should be able to save all your Wisps, when
your hero is completed, the Ghoul will usually run off.
Night Elf
---------
Hero and Huntress harassing are common here, so be prepared. You should be
harassing him, and he is probably trying to harass you. Mana Burn and Shadow
Strike can stop a hero rush, Entangle works well on Huntress also. If he
continues to harass you and you are having difficulties fighting back, get some
Ancient Protectors and Glaive Throwers behind your Moon Wells.
==========
9. Closing
==========
Well, it's been a long 2 days writing this FAQ in my boring PENNDOT office in
Clearfield, I hope those who read this get some use out of it because I did a
lot of typing.
=================
10. Contacting Me
=================
If you have any questions or you find a mistake in my FAQ, you can contact me
on the GameFAQs Frozen Throne message boards on the username Distortion. You
can also whisper me on Battle.net Azeroth server on the username ImStoned.
If you MUST you can e-mail me at matmcclosk@state.pa.us. No questions about
using this on your webpage please, the answer is no.
=============
11. Copyright
=============
Copyright 2003 Matt McCloskey. If you want this document on your webpage,
don't bother asking me because you will be ignored, the only one allowed to use
this document on a webpage is CJayC, owner of GameFAQ's. If you are not CJayC,
do not put this on your webpage, period.
==================
12. Special Thanks
==================
I'd like to thank Blizzard for making this awesome game, and also for their
online strategy guide where I got most of my statistic information from. I'd
also like to thank the newbie Night Elf players, you've inspired me to write
an FAQ to help your poor souls. I won't say any names.
And thanks to anyone who actually reads this.